A crash in the final kilometre of stage 17 of the Tour de France to Valence ended Tim Merlier's hopes of taking on Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) in the sprint finish, with Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), one of the riders to crash at close to 70km/h.
Race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) were also delayed by the crash but were given the same time as stage winner Milan due to the crash occurring in the final kilometre.
Girmay sat against the barriers after going down in the crash. He was checked by race doctors and then rode to the finish but held his right arm as if in pain.
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Girmay fortunately avoided serious injury in the fall.
"Following their crashes, Louis Barré, Biniam Girmay, and Hugo Page received immediate medical care post-stage. They've sustained superficial wounds, and we've confirmed no fractures or other major injuries. However, given the impact sustained, particularly by Girmay, we'll need to monitor his recovery closely," Intermarché-Wanty team doctor Benedikt Schäfer said.
Merlier shook his head as he crossed the finish line, disappointed to have missed out on a third win in this year's Tour de France. He did not crash but was too far back in the peloton to avoid the wreckage and was forced to slow and put down his foot.
At the finish, he sportingly searched out Milan to congratulate the Italian on his second stage win.
"I think I made a mistake. I took a roundabout on the wrong side and I lost a lot of positions," Merlier said.
"Then I needed to move up but the moment I moved up, they crashed. Then I used my best cyclocross skills to keep my bike up. Luckily I saved myself.
"I felt quite OK but I've only been able to do my sprint twice and that's a shame. I was coming for more. There were not a lot of opportunities, maybe three opportunities to sprint. I sprinted twice and took them both.
"I'm disappointed about today because it was for me the last opportunity. I'm just happy I stayed on the bike."
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